Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

My name is Ross and I am the proud poppa of a Shih Tzu named Mini Mae.

My significant other and I brought this special girl into our lives back in 2008 when I was recovering from Heart Attack. Mini is a very important part of our lives, since I suffer from Chronic Stress Disorder, and I used to have a very stressful career in the cable tv industry, which lead to my heart attack. She is my therapy dog, she helps me manage stress, when I am stressed she knows that I am, and grabs my pants leg and leads me to the bed or chair, then she jumps on my lap and nudges me till I pet her, and she lays and just lets me pet her for hours at a time till I am relaxed and my stress has calmed.

She is two years old now (Jan 1st is her birthday), and she is growing and healthy.

I have a few problems with her, 1st is that we have been very strict with her going to the bathroom, she WILL NOT go potty outside, she will only go in the house, on a potty pad for pee, and in the middle of the laundry room floor for poo, if we remove the potty pad and move it towards the door, or outside she wont go pee at all, and holds it, causing her to have bladder infections. 2nd, she will not come when called, she is very independent and we have attempted to train her to come, she will not come, she will hold her ground and stay, until we physically go and get her then it becomes a game of tag. 3rd, she is a little escape artist, she has gotten out of our fenced in backyard twice, first time, she was running down the middle of a street, second time she was in our neighbors garden. She squeezes herself through any possible opening in the fence. Any suggestions in regards to training would be appreciated and helpful.

Look forward to posting and talking to everyone.

Ross

Hi Ross and Welcome to you and Mini

My little Ayla was suppose to be only 6 pounds so I trained her to go potty on the wee wee pad. She will not go outside, no matter what unless she is playing in the snow and stops to pee suddenly. She will and has held it for up to 13 hours.
She ended up being 13 pounds but tell truth, I am glad she still uses the pad, it is so much easier and I don't have to worry about her if I cannot get home or if there is bad weather.

I have also read and found that positive reinforcement works the best for Shih Tzus. Have a favorite treat that she absolutely loves and give it to her only as a reward. (Ayla loves bacon and I can make it tiny pieces) Give her a little piece then put her on a long leash outside and call her, pull her forward, praising as she comes and give her another small piece of that very special treat. Everytime she comes to you when you call her name, even when you are inside, give her that special treat. Only then, no other time. Don't give it to her if she doesn't come. Keep it in your pocket. Soon she will come when you call her.

Once you get her used to the special treat being a good thing, you can try to change how she goes potty.
Have you tried blocking off the laundry room? Have you tried to put the pad in the laundry room?
Start when she poops on the pad in the laundry room as a treat. Start moving the pad closer and closer to the other pad, giving treats for doing good on the pad until the pads are combined. When she goes poop on the pee pad, make a big deal about it, giving treats and praise. (Or go in the other direction with putting the pad in the laundry room, out of the way) The only thing I can suggest is to move the pad a small amount at a time until it is closer to the door although, at this point, I don't think it will change. Ayla will not use the pad outside. I tried that too.
Be with her when she is outside so that if you do see her pooping or peeing outside, it is immediately rewarded. She has to associate the good with the deed, not after. Make sure you keep her in your site the whole time because you could miss it.

Couple of escape artist tricks.
1. Put chicken wire around the entire fenceline, digging down a foot and bending the fence inward so if she ever digs, she will hit wire.
2. Put a strand of electric fence along the inside fenceline. Get zapped once or twice, she will not go near the fence again.
3. Run underground fencing inside fenceline so again, she will not go near fence. You can put collar on and off when she goes in or out.
You have to make sure the electric fence is always on. You have to make sure the collar is on and batteries are good.
Annoying, yes but you will know that she is in the yard and not lost or killed.
You can also try bringing her to obedience school to give her something to do. She may be trying to get out because she is bored.

They have trained dogs to recognize epilepsy so why not stress? Mini sure sounds like a blessing to you. Glad you are here.
-----
Dee and Ayla

Hi Ross,
Welocme to you and Mini Mae to our wonderful board. Pull up a crate and make yourself at home. We love to have new folks join us.

Again, great to see you and Mini Mae here.

-----
Mary Lou & Katie

Hi Ross and Mini Mae and welcome to our little group.
I am glad to hear that your little one is doing a great job helping with your stress disorder. They are such loving little dogs.
I am going to make a suggestion on the housebreaking. I am a Shih Tzu breeder, and professional dog handler, and although Shih Tzu can be tough to train it can be done.
Firstly, I think you need to buy a kiddie corral available at most Target, Kmart, or Walmart stores, the type they use for children. You will put this in your yard and that is where Mini Mae will be put to use the bathroom. You can start by placing it outside and putting a potty pad down in it. You will place her in the pen several times a day focusing on the times of day she usually goes. Any success will be rewarded with a treat of some kind. Secondly, place a potty pad where she goes in the laundry as well so she is associating a pad with the place to eliminate.
I think the corral is a wonderful tool and I encourage all my puppy buyers to purchase one. It will keep your little one safe. Since she is escaping from the yard, always be outside with her if she is loose there. Perhaps walks on the leash would be better for her.
I wish you the best of luck with your little one, please keep us informed how it is going.

-----
Denice
DnD Shih Tzu
http://dndshihtzu0.tripod.com/

Great advice, Denice. I never trained Katie to go in a certain area of the house when I got her since I was home and had plenty of time to take her out frequently. She kind of trained herself at age thirteen, I put some newspaper down near the garage door in the kitchen to put my boots on after coming in. For some reason, she started to use the papers to take care of business on occasion. It sure has come in handy with the snow coming down or icy conditions in the front yard. I just have to remember now not to leave a newspaper on the living room floor or any other place in the house. LOL
-----
Mary Lou & Katie

Ooooo, who is that Denice?
I know it's not Mia but looks like her.
-----
Dee and Ayla

No that is Amy she was the #4 Shih Tzu bitch in the country last year.
-----
Denice
DnD Shih Tzu
http://dndshihtzu0.tripod.com/

Oh wow, Denice that's quite an honor. Congratulations to you and Amy.

-----
Mary Lou & Katie

>>Hi,
>>
>>My name is Ross and I am the proud poppa of a Shih Tzu named Mini Mae.
>>
>>My significant other and I brought this special girl into our lives back in 2008 when I was recovering from Heart Attack. Mini is a very important part of our lives, since I suffer from Chronic Stress Disorder, and I used to have a very stressful career in the cable tv industry, which lead to my heart attack. She is my therapy dog, she helps me manage stress, when I am stressed she knows that I am, and grabs my pants leg and leads me to the bed or chair, then she jumps on my lap and nudges me till I pet her, and she lays and just lets me pet her for hours at a time till I am relaxed and my stress has calmed.
>>
>>She is two years old now (Jan 1st is her birthday), and she is growing and healthy.
>>
>>I have a few problems with her, 1st is that we have been very strict with her going to the bathroom, she WILL NOT go potty outside, she will only go in the house, on a potty pad for pee, and in the middle of the laundry room floor for poo, if we remove the potty pad and move it towards the door, or outside she wont go pee at all, and holds it, causing her to have bladder infections. 2nd, she will not come when called, she is very independent and we have attempted to train her to come, she will not come, she will hold her ground and stay, until we physically go and get her then it becomes a game of tag. 3rd, she is a little escape artist, she has gotten out of our fenced in backyard twice, first time, she was running down the middle of a street, second time she was in our neighbors garden. She squeezes herself through any possible opening in the fence. Any suggestions in regards to training would be appreciated and helpful.
>>
>>Look forward to posting and talking to everyone.
>>
>>Ross
>>
>>
>>

Hi Ross, and welcome Mini Mae. What a great story of how your little one helps you. Your slide show was great She is a cutie for sure.
-----